[C38] Unstepping mast plus deck + cabin trunk repairs

[les]

On Fri, 2012-03-23 at 13:40 -0400, Marci Brown wrote:
> We’re going to spend the summer fixing rather than sailing Check’s in
> the Mail. It’s been long overdue. Care to share your experiences and
> wisdom about preparing to unstep the mast in ways that make it go
> smoothly, and then easier for stepping later on? I will certainly mark
> the turnbuckles with a permanent marker. The soft spots in the deck
> and cabin trunk – labor intensive but can’t be ignored. My Don Casey
> repair book will be helpful...  
> 
> Marci Brown
> 
> Winthrop, Mass.
> 
>  

I found plenty of issues with JACE's mast when we went through that.  If
you haven't replaced your standing rigging, this might be a good time to
do it if the boat bucks are available.  

We used tape and permanent markers to mark each of the lines so we got
them back in the right places.  Also take pictures of the gooseneck and
tack fittings.  I discovered that each boat is a little bit different in
this area, and I never did figure out exactly where some of the bits
went back on.  I had to wing it.

Check the spreaders carefully for corrosion.  On Jace the upper
spreaders had corroded so badly we had to have replacements made.  Now
they have them at some of the mast places, but then we couldn't find
any.  Had to take some lower spreaders and have them cut to length and
rewelded.

The yards will not typically tune the mast from what I have heard, so
once it is back in, you will have to either do it yourself or hire
someone.  If you do it yourself, see if you can borrow or rent a strain
gauge to get everything setup right, and redo it one time about a month
or so later to correct any stretch that takes place.

Also while it is down, check the tube for the electrical wiring to make
sure that is all solid.  This will take some work with a flashlight and
good vision at a minimum.  In the yard, I think they used some kind of
scope, which makes it a lot easier.

Also go through the head stock.  Check the bearings, the blocks and
pulleys and all the pins and also the shackles and blocks for the
spinnaker stuff.

Look at the winch bases to see which ones might need some additional
attention.

Take this stuff and the hints from others and make a check list so you
don't miss anything in the heat of battle.  Its a lot easier to do this
stuff once the stick is on the ground.

One of the best things I did was to have them add spartite when they
restepped the mast.  No more water down the mast into the cabin.
Unfortunately no good way exists to keep water from running down the
inside of the mast to the bilge, but at least there it isn't on your
settee.

Regards,
Les H